“Yeah…I understand. I do. I don’t want to do that to you either.” I was still struggling with what to say to him.
“When you decide if you want to pursue something with me, let me know, okay. No hard feelings.” He was being so sincere; I wanted to tell him I might still want to see him. But I didn’t, did I?
I answered without thinking, “Okay, thank you. You’re very sweet and maybe we can still run together sometimes?”
“Sounds great. I’ll see you around on the trails some time, okay?” He asked nicely, but I could hear the disappointment in his voice.
“Yeah, I’d like that, thanks.” I responded slowly.
“Bye.” he said sadly.
“Bye.” I hung up the phone and stood there for a moment. Did I just end it with Mark to pursue something with Z? I felt sad all of a sudden like I made the wrong choice. Shit. Am I a rebound for Z or not? It had only been a week since he broke up with Sheila. How long had he been with her? I turned and walked back into the kitchen. Everyone was whispering to each other, but quickly tried to make idle conversation when I walked back in.
I grabbed a beer and drank. Okay…it was more like I chugged…the whole thing down. Melanie was eyeing me. I took a deep breath and turned around to the oven to check on the cake. Shit. I forgot to turn on the timer! It was completely burnt. I took it out and tossed it onto the stove.
Melanie came over and hugged me from behind. “It’s alright. We didn’t need dessert anyway.”
I gave a half laugh, “Nah, I’ll whip up a strawberry dessert instead. I just wanted some chocolate today.” I said with a huff.
She laughed as she still had her head on my shoulder. “Well you could probably lick Z! He seems to have it all over his back.” I turned to look at Z. He was chatting with Clark and Flynn and sure enough, there was a huge chocolate stripe down his back. I looked at Mel and started giggling. Oops.
Melanie watched me, trying to gauge my expression. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I looked back over to make sure Z was still chatting with the guys. “I think I just broke it off with Mark…or maybe he did with me.” Melanie looked a bit cautious and excited at the same time.
“Well, is that what you want? I mean, I thought you liked him too?” I glanced back over at Z who was looking over at us. He smiled at us and gave me a nod, turning back to the guys.
“I’m not sure what I’m doing.” I whispered nervously.
“What do you mean? Clark told me he walked in on you guys again! Are you sure you want to pursue something with Z? I mean, I like you two getting together, but I really think maybe you should go slow.”
“I know and I keep coming back to the whole rebound thing.” I said, frowning as I placed the potatoes into the oven to roast them and this time turned on the timer.
Melanie took a deep breath, “You came out of a long, and I might add weird, one too. And I’m sure he feels just as worried about the same thing. So, if you two do decide to get together, you should really think about going slow.”
I turned to her. “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I should just give him a shot and take our time.” I looked over at him again.
He turned, smiled at me making my heart flutter and walked over. “What’s going on over here? Girl pow-wow?” Melanie laughed and went to grab a beer.
“Just girl talk.” I smiled up at him. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a kiss. “Yeah, girl talk, huh? What are you girls gabbing about?” He kissed me again.
“Get a room guys!” Clark yelled, “Come on Izzy, I’m starving!” I shook my head realizing he was always going to interrupt us, wasn’t he? Z released me and shot him another look to which Clark laughed at. Clark, Melanie and Flynn turned back to talk about their day at work.
The timer went off and I checked the roasted potatoes and started cooking the chicken. I thought I would go ahead and tell him about Mark, but I wasn’t sure if he wanted something more than what we were doing. What were we doing? Just fooling around, I guess? “I…umm. Mark, that was Mark on the phone. We…I,” I stuttered trying to get any form of sentence out of my mouth. “We’re not going to see each other anymore.” I continued staring at the chicken, but glanced up at Z. He was smiling from ear to ear, which made my heart skip a beat.
“Really? That’s great. I mean, if you’re good with that.” He frowned when he said the last part.
I looked him in the eyes. “I’m good with that.” I bit my lip and looked at him. He smiled and bent down giving me a kiss. He gave me another one that led to a deeper kiss.
We heard cheering from the couch and broke our embrace, looking over to the living room.
“Finally!” Flynn exclaimed.
I looked away embarrassed and Z started laughing. “I better watch the chicken, I don’t want to burn them like I did the cake!”
He smirked, “Got it. I’ll get a plate.”
I took a deep breath realizing that I think we just discussed getting together. But all of a sudden I wasn’t sure how to act around him. He pulled my hair to one side and started kissing my neck again. I swallowed hard and realized I needed to concentrate on the chicken or I’d really burn them. I giggled and told him they were done and that we need finish setting up for dinner. Although if I were cooking for just the two of us, I’d have let the chicken burn to have him continue kissing my neck like that.
He set out the salad and the chicken while I finished adding the roasted garlic to the potatoes. “It’s about time! I’m really hungry, Iz!” Clark said laughing. “Z, you better leave her alone ‘til after we eat.” I just shook my head and set out the potatoes. Everyone grabbed a plate and their food and we all sat down to eat.
We had a great time talking about things that happened during their day at work. Flynn was excited about a new project he was given as his to take. Usually, his Dad was overseeing his projects, but this would be his first by himself. Melanie looked very happy for him and told him so. Clark said work sucks, there was nothing new at his job and that he couldn’t wait until Thursday for the bar. Tuesdays and Wednesdays weren’t that busy so he didn’t usually work as a bouncer at the bar those nights.
As everyone started clearing their plates, I went back to the strawberries and started to shake the can for whipped cream. I started preparing everyone’s dessert, but when I tipped the can for the whipped cream, something happened where it exploded all over me. It was all over the cabinets. It was a mess! Everyone started laughing so hard. Clark started clapping and telling Mel to cover herself with it so he could have a really good show. Z came over to try to help wipe some off but wound up laughing so hard, he wasn’t very helpful.
“Really, I can cook, but this just hasn’t been my night!” I whined while laughing.
“No, you did great. It really was a good meal!” He said trying to help me clean the cabinets.
Clark’s phone rang and we could all hear his conversation. “Yeah”…“Hey”…“Are you okay?”…“What’s wrong?”…“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be right over.”
“Who was that?” Flynn asked Clark after he hung up.
Clark smirked and clapped his hands, rubbing them together excitedly, “It was Tina. Her boyfriend just broke up with her! Time for me to swoop in guys!” He stood up and grabbed his wallet and keys. “She needs a shoulder to cry on and hopefully, I can get some while I’m consoling her!” He laughed.
“You are such a pig!” Melanie shouted out. “How can you do that? She’s heartbroken!”
Clark laughed and stretched his arms out wide, “Really? Then why did she call me? She obviously wants some! Otherwise, she would have called one of her girlfriends!”
Melanie shook her head and rolled her eyes. Both guys were shrugging and nodding their heads in agreement. I had to admit too, he had a point. I decided not to take sides in this and went back to cleaning. Clark headed out, shouting “Later!” as he left.
Melanie decided to pick a fight with Flynn. “Are you defending him? Why would he do something like that?”
Flynn just shook his head, “I’m not defending him, but you have to admit he has a point. Why wouldn’t she have called her girlfriend? Iz called you and not some fling when she left her ex.” Great, thanks…bring me into this! I kept cleaning and decided to let them have it out. Z continued to help me clean, choosing the same option.
“Don’t bring Iz into this. She’s got a different situation than most.” Mel shot back.
“I’m right here guys! Can we not talk about me in your little argument?” I shot out.
“Sorry, right Iz…didn’t mean anything by that.” Flynn said.
Melanie continued, “I’m just saying that things are a bit different in your situation. You wouldn’t go running into another relationship right after what you’ve been through.” My heart sank…I thought that’s what I was doing. I mean, what else is Z? My ears were burning and I told Z that I needed to go wash up since I had whipped cream in my hair. I turned and ran up the stairs. I closed the bathroom door and began to wash whipped cream out of my hair and clothes.
I heard a knock at the door and opened it to find Z standing there with a sad face and his head tilted. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” I swallowed hard not knowing what to say.
“You know we never really discussed what we’re doing together, have we?” he asked.
I looked away and sighed. “No, not really.”
“It doesn’t have to be anything more than you want. I’ll go as slow as you need to. I get that you came from a...different…relationship, so I get it. I’d really like to take our time, if that’s what you want. I don’t want to be your rebound any more than you want to be mine, okay?” His smile was so sweet and sincere. I knew then and there I made the right choice.
Relieved, I smiled. “Okay…I’d really like that.” I leaned forward and gave him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around me for a strong embrace.
Chapter 15
Z
Holding Izzy felt so good. It just felt like we fit together. I could have held her forever, but Mel and Flynn’s fight started escalating. I looked down at Izzy and wondered if she was game to play referee.
“How about a game of pool?” I asked her.
She snickered, “Well, I’m up for it, but I’m not sure if we should put a cue stick in their hands!” She had a really good point and I chuckled as I grabbed her hand to lead her downstairs.
We literally walked into a battlefield. They were yelling about who slept with whom and when and everything that had nothing to do with what they first started fighting about. I looked at Izzy and nodded toward the door. She grabbed her purse and phone and we headed out.
We got out the door and were both stone faced. “What was that all about?” Izzy asked with her gorgeous blue eyes wide.
“I don’t know, but at least they might finally figure it out.” Changing the subject, I asked, “Feel like heading to a great bar for some pool?”
She smiled brightly and her eyes lit up. “Absolutely!” I swung my arm around her shoulders. I just wanted to be closer to her. I gave her a kiss on her cheek. She giggled so sweet. I know I told her we’d go slow, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to hold up my end of the bargain. Especially when she looked so hot in faded jeans and tight t-shirt. I just wanted my arms around her all the time. The way she made me feel so happy when I was around her, it was incredible.
I hopped on my bike and I watched her smile bright as she climbed behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and held tight. I could really get used to this. I turned slightly and gave her a kiss on her mouth, then started up my bike and headed toward my favorite bar, where I used to hang out at before I opened Allure.
It was a dive bar on the outside of town where mainly locals hang out. We pulled up and parked next to a sea of bikes. Izzy smiled getting off the bike. Most girls would be a bit intimidated looking at this place, considering all the bikes here and how dingy the place looked. Not Izzy. She looked excited. I grabbed her hand and headed for the door.
We stepped up to the bar and she hopped on a bar stool while I ordered two Amberbocks. She was looking around the bar and checking out the pool tables and who was playing. I hadn’t thought about how she would feel playing in a bar. I wondered if she had bad memories from childhood about her mom picking up guys. I can’t imagine being in bars at such a young age. I put my arm around her waist, pulling her to me and asked, “What are you thinking?”
She was smiling big. “I’m thinking I love this place. Reminds me of when I was young.”
I gave her a quizzical look, “You liked that? I mean I wasn’t sure if you had some bad memories.”
She shook her head as she took a drink from her beer, “No, I mean when it was time to go, that sucked,” she laughed, “you know because sometimes I had to wait for my mom to return.” What the…? She was left alone so young at a bar?
“Wait, you mean she left you there?” I shook my head not able to grasp a mom leaving her young daughter at a bar, let alone bring her there to begin with.
She smirked, “Well, I’d have rather been at the bar then have to listen to them go at it…which, I also had to do sometimes. That really sucked.” Then she shook her head again, “No, when I was at the bar, I had about ten father figures watching over me and teaching me every trick to playing pool. I loved that. I always felt protected and safe there.” She shook her head laughing, “and I always had an endless supply of Shirley Temples!”
“Where was your Dad during all this? I think Mel told me he left when you were young?”
She shook her head. “No, he was never in the picture at all. My birth certificate doesn’t have him named at all.” Wow, this was way worse than I thought.
“Umm...wow, I’m sorry.” I had no idea what else to say. I can’t imagine not even having a name to go by to try to find him, if she even wanted that.
“That’s okay. It’s done with and nothing I can change.” She simply said, smiling. Somehow I found it odd that she could just be so carefree about saying all that. “Come on, a table just opened up.” She grabbed my arm excitedly, holding her beer in her other hand.
She set up and we started playing. I could tell after she broke she was missing some on purpose. Damn she was good and definitely in her element. She was dancing to the music, eyeing her next move and lining ‘em up. While we played we talked about her getting into college and her scholarship, which pretty much paid for most of her costs. She earned what she needed for other expenses by bartending.